Part XII

Another suburban parish story began in 1946, when a meeting of people from Kennedy Township made the request for a priest to serve the Catholics of the area. Under the direction of Father Daniel Lawless, the Director of the Missionary Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, a Sunday School was organized, and Mass was celebrated with 155 people in attendance. Known as the Kenmawr Mission, the people were able to purchase property in 1949 in anticipation of the erection of a new parish. An interesting note is that one of catechists at this initial time was a Sister of Charity, Marcella Mary Burgender, who had entered the community from Saint Mary Help of Christians. The connections between all the parishes continued since the earliest days.

The post-war boom brought babies, and parishes were struggling to find space to keep up. Schools and churches were being erected throughout the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The seminaries and convents were filled with candidates for the priesthood and religious life. At Mother of Sorrows, Father Cillo, anticipating priests to be assigned to assist him, built an addition to the rectory.

Bishop Boyle died at the end of 1950, succeeded by Bishop John Dearden. The new bishop was known for his tremendous support of Catholic education, and as new parishes were erected, he required that they also provide a school. Many times, the efforts of the faithful produced what were called “Dearden specials,” a combination church-school building. It was Bishop Dearden who went to the superiors of the Sisters who staffed the schools of the diocese and asked for teachers for the new schools. Just as the ethnic enclaves were beginning to be dismantled, the religious communities once identified with their own ethnic groups were now being called upon to serve in these suburban schools. We would see two examples of that in our history.